New York Red Bulls Sign Thierry Henry: Does Anyone Care?

Among the post-World Cup chatter, one story in particular has been lost in the shuffle… Thierry Henry has signed with the New York Red Bulls of MLS!

While we would not expect this to make international headlines as the “mega-transfer” of the summer, it is curious that even MLS has kept such a low profile in promoting the signing.

If the LA Galaxy‘s lavish unveiling of David Beckham three years ago was any sign, we would have expected the Red Bulls to have Thierry Henry parachute off the Empire State Building before being carted down Times Square in a ticker tape parade. But the club and the league have been much more humble, having learned their lessons from Beckham‘s unveiling. Beckham arrived in LA injured, but that didn’t stop MLS from bombarding the US media with 24-hour Beckham coverage (as if aliens had landed from Mars) and it didn’t stop clubs from jacking up ticket prices for Galaxy matches. While Beckham helped sell out every Galaxy match (home and away) through the end of his first season, many casual fans felt burned by buying tickets to watch Beckham sit injured on the bench.

But the Red Bulls and MLS fans alike should be much more optimistic with the addition of Thierry Henry. Surely Henry‘s lack of playing time during the World Cup, and France‘s embarrassing performance worked to subdue any grand unveiling… But a healthy Henry joins a New York club sitting 4th in the 16 team league. Paired with former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel (currently 2nd leading scorer in MLS with 9 goals in 15 match), Henry will compliment an already potent Red Bull attack. And where American interest in Beckham dealt more with his looks, his wife, and his image on just about every commercial and product imaginable… Henry‘s presence in the league should prove to impact the weekly highlight reels, more so than the tabloids.

Thierry Henry represents the true world-class goal scorer who should be expected to do something remarkable (at least by MLS standards) each time he steps on the pitch. Sure, he’s not exactly in his prime, but he’s not that far removed from single-”handedly” (we couldn’t resist) sneaking France into the World Cup either.

Henry is expected to debut for the New York Red Bulls in an exhibition match versus Tottenham Hotspur on July 22nd. What a nice way to ease the former Arsenal man into life in the US – with a match against an old rival.

Thierry Henry isn't exactly the talk of the town

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We at Footy Factor would like to thank Andy Taylor from Washington DC for submitting this article.

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